107,003 Shares in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 107,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of The GEO Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth $313,000. Bravias Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at $186,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 182.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in The GEO Group by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of GEO opened at $29.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 101.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.16. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. Research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on GEO shares. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

About The GEO Group

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) engages in ownership, leasing, and management of secure facilities, processing centers, and community-based reentry facilities in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The company also provides secure facility management services, including the provision of security, administrative, rehabilitation, education, and food services; reentry services, such as temporary housing, programming, employment assistance, and other services; electronic monitoring and supervision services; and transportation services; as well as designs, constructs, and finances new facilities through projects.